Gulbis-isms

It seems the outspoken Gulbis is an obscure mix of sincerity and sarcasm, of reality and fantasy. He just has a different philosophy on, well, pretty much everything. Here are more quotes I've compiled by Gulbis for your amusement and delectation.


On why the press room was empty after his 2008 U.S. Open loss to Andy Roddick
“Nobody will come, trust me. Nobody is interested in losers here.”

When James LaRosa asked if he could call Gulbis “Ernie”
“Call me Mr. Gulbis. I’ll call you Mr. LaRosa.”

On his slow start to the 2009 season
“I was playing like a Spanish player—two meters behind the baseline doing nothing.”

On an incredibly high racket-toss at the 2009 Auckland event
“I can throw it much higher. I was just scared to throw it somewhere over. Because once I throw it over the fence and I got a $2000 fine. I don’t want to pay it anymore, so I’m trying to keep it in the borders of the court.”

On his propensity for drop-shots at the 2009 Auckland event
“Yeah because I couldn’t do nothing else. I don’t have a volley. Just once it was lucky. But otherwise just drop-shots.”

On what he likes about Rotterdam
“I like that the marijuana here is legal. I’m for that. Unfortunately tennis players cannot do that, but I like the way of thinking.”

On reports that he flies to tournaments in a private jet
“Yes. And I have a helicopter, a submarine, and a spaceship.”

On spending a night in a Stockholm jail in 2009 for soliciting prostitutes
“It was great. It was great fun; a very funny time. But I’m never going to go to Sweden again. If you go out and meet some girls, and immediately you’re put in jail, that’s not normal. It was very funny, though. I think everybody should go to jail at least once.”

On his favorite thing to do in New York:
I’m not going to tell you.

On the constant complaints by other players about the U.S. Open logistics, such as transportation:
A lot of players are princesses, you know. I like New York, you know. I don’t like a place like Cincinnati, there’s nothing to do. There is one Applebees, two hotels, you go out you get depressed. It’s a joke.

On his reputation (hookers, private jets, etc.) that precedes him:
I’m trying to balance it. With age, you become more and more professional. So now I think I’ve calmed down, I’m doing the right stuff, but still I have my moments. I think you’re going to hear about them from time to time. Nothing has changed. But I’m trying to keep it more quiet.

On what he does with his hair
“I think all the products are for girls. The body lotions, the creams, the makeup, whatever, is just for girls. Guys should be natural. Of course you have to take care of yourself, you have to go to shower, you know, so you don’t smell bad. The rest is just natural. Mr. Gulbis showers and never combs his hair and that’s it.”

On drinking
“If I start drinking I’m going to drink until the morning. I can’t go to a nightclub and drink four beers and I’m good. If I go out, I go full night out.”

On women
“I like all girls. Really I like all women, I like all girls. I think they’re all beautiful. I’ve never dated nobody in my life. I’ve never dated a girl. I don’t let her believe that she’s my girlfriend.”

What does it take to date Mr. Gulbis? What are the landmines girls have to look out for?
I don’t want to talk negative about myself, because there are some opportunities and if a girl reads this interview…I only want to say good stuff about me. Very smart, very talented (laughs). …If you meet a girl, I’m not ready to go in relationship with her straight away, so it’s like, what is in my mind? For every normal guy, in your mind is to get the girl in bed. As soon as possible. It all takes energy. In a tournament I don’t do that.”

On what a night out with him would be like
“What do people do when they go out? They get drunk. To go out and not drink, I don’t understand it. If you go to a nightclub, what is to enjoy there? Nothing. The music is too loud, everybody’s sweating, everybody’s dancing, it’s dark, everybody’s pushing, everybody’s drunk. And if you’re the only guy sober in the nightclub, you don’t enjoy it at all. If you’re into the groove, you know, you have a couple drinks, you’re on the same level as the club, you can sometimes get something positive out of it. But it’s not what I like. I prefer to stay in my friends’ company, invite girls over.”

On his 2010 Los Angeles loss to Alejandro Falla
“Nothing worked today. I was just running like a Spanish clay-court player standing on the baseline and pushing the ball back. Women’s tennis.”

On getting warned by Fergus Murphy for perpetual racket-throwing during his loss to Falla
“This referee – his only purpose in life is to give somebody warnings. He is like a police officer; when they see a car they stop it and they have so much fun to give you a ticket. In Latvia, I stop where you cannot stop and they have a smile on their face as they give me a ticket. Same with this guy.”

After beating Roger Federer in Rome, on how he dealt with failing to serve out the match
“You know, there’s a good expression in English but it involves bad words. So I’m not gonna say it. I…did it in my pants.”

On how he beat Federer
“I think I beat Roger Federer because I ate scrambled eggs in the morning.”

On how he found energy to win his next match after beating Federer
“Well I found energy because I really like doing these interviews, because I get my childhood dream to be a pilot. I feel like a pilot right now.”

On missing a crucial smash on set point against Federer
“Fantastic smash. I already said in the pilot interview, if I would miss the smash, if I would lose the set, I would quit tennis. That’s too much for my nerves. I can’t take this anymore.”

On playing Rafael Nadal on clay in the Rome semis
“If he plays good, I’ll let him go. What can I do? If he plays good, he beats me. That’s it.”

On the comparison between his Rome matches against Federer and Nadal
“I don’t like losing. I like winning. I don’t like to lose beautiful matches. I like to win ugly ones.”

On the Madrid courts in 2010
“I came here early; got used to the courts because they are not really straight. They are like playing on a mountain.”

On Nadal’s mentality
“He thinks how to kill his opponent. He’s got a different mentality. Mine is closer to that of Marat Safin.”

On Fabrice Santoro
“He is a disgusting player. Even though outside of the court, an awesome dude.”

On hitting big groundstrokes
“Well, I don’t know. I never practice that much. I never practice that much at all. What can I do? I cannot run. I’m a tall guy. I cannot move my legs, so that’s why I’m trying to hit it hard; so that I don’t have to move.”

On what he did during a rain delay in the middle of the 2010 Delray Beach final
“I scored 18 free throws in a row during the break. During the rain delay. 18 free throws. Usually I do a couple hundred.”

On how he returned Ivo Karlovic’s serve in the 2010 Delray Beach final
“I think he was a little bit scared to serve against me because the height didn’t matter because I blocked him in basketball. He thought that I didn’t. He thought that I fouled but that’s OK.”

When asked about practice during the 2010 Delray Beach event
“I don’t like practicing. I really hate practicing.”

On racket breaking
“I break around 60 to 70 a year. I felt bad after going to the factory where they make the rackets and I saw all the work they do. Everything is hand-made. They do everything for the players; they really think about what the players need, and then an idiot like me comes and breaks them.

“I think I broke 64 rackets. In order to do so, you need to put some muscle into it. On the hard court, where it’s more difficult to break a racket, with one try I broke a racket in five places. I am emotional. Though I don’t do it because something bugs me. It’s just a stupid habit.”

On why he got broken early in the 2nd set against Anderson at Winston-Salem 2012
Well, I served pretty well today. I got broken at the first time in the 2nd set mostly because of old balls and because I broke him and then he broke me straight back with the oldest balls possible. And then they changed them the next game. It’s really tough to serve with really old balls, especially here. He’s a guy also, when it’s 15-0, 30-0 he’s going to make good points, it’s going to be nice, with an ace, he’s confident, but when it’s 0-15, 0-30, everybody chokes. Even the best guys. Even Roger or Rafa chokes, it’s just normal. I broke him twice. He made twice double-fault. It’s tough to get to that point when you have break points against a big server like this. You know, couple games, the match is long. Even if it’s a five set match, it’s even longer. You shouldn’t worry, just relax, keep going.

On his upset over Berdych at Wimbledon:
I just prove to myself that when I’m good I can beat anybody. It’s clear for the rest of the players as well. They know when I play well I will give them trouble. Doesn’t matter who it is. When I play bad, I can lose to anyone.

On beating Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in 2012 #2
“I’m really happy that I didn’t choke in the end, as usual. I’m very well-known for mental strength. Ask around. Watch my previous matches.”

On his opponents:
I never care who I play against, I only care about my game. It’s simple. If I feel the ball well I really don’t care who I play. I can beat anybody, of course, I can lose also…. I really get peed off if I am playing like Poopie, like I did at the beginning of the year, I didn’t get any wins. It’s a joke.

On the players ranked ahead of him:
No disrespect to the other guys, but when I see what kind of players are already in top 50, I’m a bit shocked. I don’t know some of the names. Even I come here to this tournament, I see some of the guys, I ask my friend, ‘Who is this?’ He is ranked top 50!

On consistency and Challengers:
Just consistency to get to the top 50. Yes, of course, these guys play only challengers, they win 5 or 6 challengers and they are ranked in the top 100. I play maybe 2 challengers in the last 4 or 5 years. I went to the big tournaments no matter what, I didn’t care about my ranking points, I just wanted and went to the big tournaments, so this is what I’m going to continue to be doing, doesn’t matter what’s my ranking. I’m not going to go to a challenger because of points. I can go to a challenger because of lack of matches or something like that, but never because of points.

And I know that any given week I can play well– reach quarter, I can reach semis– and the points in these tournaments are bigger. I just need two good weeks. I’m going to be top 50 in no time, if I play and continue working.

On Qualifying for Winston-Salem 2012
I came, so you have to win 9 matches to win the tournament. It’s more than a Grand Slam! And also, how they treat the players in qualifying it’s also a joke. First of all, you come to the center court they don’t have the net divide, they don’t have the hawk-eye system. They have the hawk-eye system, they just don’t want to use it for qualifying. Qualifying is not really a tournament sometimes. It’s ‘okay, let the guys play there’, whatever. I have this feeling, maybe I’m wrong, it’s very subjective always. I’m still going to try, I’m going to go to Asia, I’m going to play the quallies there, then I believe they’re not easy. Here was tough quallies, there was a lot of tough players.

On his new coach:
I changed my coach a few months ago…before Paris. Gunter Bresnik. Austrian guy. He’s a good coach. It’s been good…I’m not playing my best tennis, I’ve just gotten some wins, and some confidence, and you know when I’m playing like this maybe I can win the tournament.

On the impact of his new coach on his mindset and game:
There is nothing to change about that, it’s my own decision what I’m doing in my life and outside the court, but on the court, my forehand.

On his motivation to achieve success in 2013
“I was really getting peed to see who’s in the Top 100. There are some guys who I don’t know who they are. Some guys, I’m sorry–with respect–they can’t play tennis. I don’t know how they got into the Top 100. I think I’m much better than them. It’s a motivation.”

On why he thinks he will have a good 2013
“I quit a lot of stuff in my life. For example, smoking, drinking, staying up late.”

On losing to Nadal at Rome 2013
"I thought I was the better player in the match. But he is the champion and, well, I lost against him in Indian Wells when I also thought I played better than him. He is solid and he didn't do anything special and I made mistakes and so he won."

On the top 4 players, RG2013
“Tennis today badly lacks characters. I respect Roger, Rafa, Novak and Murray but, for me, all four of them are boring players. Their interviews are boring. Honestly, they are crap. It is Federer who started this fashion. He has a superb image of the perfect Swiss gentleman. I respect Federer but I don’t like it that young players try to imitate him. When I hear them answer like Roger, I am terrified by phrases like, ‘I had a little bit more success at certain moments and that is how I won. If I win, the guy on the other side of the net, I have sent him home. I do not want to hear in an interview a guy who I will not name, but who I know well that he thinks all his opponents are assholes, putting on an act. I would like interviews to be more like in boxing. When they face each other down at the weigh-in they bring what the fans want: war, blood, emotion.”

On the penny dropping post RG 2013 loss that he needs to get fitter
“I need to stand for two-and-a-half hours. If I play my top tennis, there is not going to be many guys who can compete with me when I'm playing the best. I just need to maintain my best in order to put much more pressure to the other guys. Because I'm playing attacking tennis. I'm going to be usually the one dictating the points against most of the guys, except a few. But I need to maintain my own top level for two, three hours, and it's going to be enough in most of the times. In general I need to last much longer in this high level if I want to win these five-set matches.”

“I want to be the player who can go deep no matter who he plays. I don't care about draw. I want to win. I'm not interested past two, three, four rounds. And then what? It's not my goal in life. I will be happy to do it, of course I need to do it, I need to prove it, not just talk all the time.”

Good stuff Lydian

It'd be good if Gulbis paid as much attention to his Tennis

Please refer to last quote I just added, maybe he realises finally.

He is 'Barney' from 'How I met your mother'!!!!

What a Muppet.

I have no respect for a guy who a talks and approaches life in that fashion.

Not even slightly humorous - just a rambling buffoon. Only in this age of dumbed down mediocrity could such a person be considered 'cool'. Some may consider this judgement to be a little harsh but in my mind, the person who works hard, dedicates himself and makes the most of what he has been given, behaving with decorum and thought is far more worthy of praise than a spoilt, show-off who's only contribution is to speak loud and wise whilst lavishly wasting that which he has been given.

And HE has the bare faced nerve to call those top players boring ....
Jeeeze "I luv me who do you luv" !!!!!

I bet he couldn´t hold a conversation with anyone unless the topic was himself.

Well doesn´t surprise me that he has more talent than brains and a mouth that never closes

Haddie-nuff wrote:And HE has the bare faced nerve to call those top players boring ....
Jeeeze "I luv me who do you luv" !!!!!

I bet he couldn´t hold a conversation with anyone unless the topic was himself.

Well doesn´t surprise me that he has more talent than brains and a mouth that never closes

Absolutely spot on.

Makes me wanna puke

Do we have to like him though?

Isn't it ultimately good for the game to have some characters that frustrate, irritate, whatever as well as the 'great ambassadors' for the game?

In the end the fact that we are talking about him here and that the newspapers have all given room to his comments, and to Djokovic's, Federer's and Murray's responses mean publicity for the sport.

At the end of the day, the young superbrat's tantrums meant a lot of people turned on to see what the fuss was about - and I know that he also let his racquet do the talking, but a lot of the audience turned on for other reasons than his volleying.

I'm not suggesting that Gulbis' ramblings have quite the same box office, but it has sparked a debate about how we expect our sporting stars to conform to an ideal now - it's sort of inhibited Djokovic's natural joking personality, perhaps that's a good thing for his tennis, perhaps it wouldn't matter. I guess the point is will we look back at this era with the same affection for great characters as we do at previous eras, and does it even matter?

emancipator wrote:What a Muppet.

I have no respect for a guy who a talks and approaches life in that fashion.

Not even slightly humorous - just a rambling buffoon. Only in this age of dumbed down mediocrity could such a person be considered 'cool'. Some may consider this judgement to be a little harsh but in my mind, the person who works hard, dedicates himself and makes the most of what he has been given, behaving with decorum and thought is far more worthy of praise than a spoilt, show-off who's only contribution is to speak loud and wise whilst lavishly wasting that which he has been given.

I also see that Mac has rather naively supported Gulbis, thinking that it's still the 80's and boorish behaviour is still tolerated

Unfortunately it isn't. The Top 4 would spend all the energy defending such behaviour and as they have little enough to fight eacb other this would be a gross error

I loved the antics of Connors and Mac, after all they are in my Fab 5 - but times moved on

Sorry, forgot to add the link

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/may/30/john-mcenroe-ernests-gulbis-french-open

Those players of the past that were controversial and there were plenty of them, Johnny Mc, Jimmy Connors, Nastasie, LeConte, Agassi and more.. yes but look what they achieved... they will be remembered more for their tennis than their tantrums and big mouths. Gulbis has, even with all the talent he has, achieved nothing the poor little rich boy will have to get Daddy to buy him his own Grand Slam Tournament and have a trophy made.
People would have a great deal more respect for him if he earned his keep by playing the way we know he can and winning tournaments in spite of his father´s money

time please wrote:Do we have to like him though?

Isn't it ultimately good for the game to have some characters that frustrate, irritate, whatever as well as the 'great ambassadors' for the game?

In the end the fact that we are talking about him here and that the newspapers have all given room to his comments, and to Djokovic's, Federer's and Murray's responses mean publicity for the sport.

At the end of the day, the young superbrat's tantrums meant a lot of people turned on to see what the fuss was about - and I know that he also let his racquet do the talking, but a lot of the audience turned on for other reasons than his volleying.

I'm not suggesting that Gulbis' ramblings have quite the same box office, but it has sparked a debate about how we expect our sporting stars to conform to an ideal now - it's sort of inhibited Djokovic's natural joking personality, perhaps that's a good thing for his tennis, perhaps it wouldn't matter. I guess the point is will we look back at this era with the same affection for great characters as we do at previous eras, and does it even matter?

I take your point TP.. kind of like, any publicity is good publicity.

But it cheapens life (ok, a bit melodramatic) when the spice is taken from an empty, clanking vessel like Ernie.

After all, the world is full of Ernie type characters. All you have to do is turn on Saturday night reality TV and you'll get a heavy dose of witless, thoughtless, pointless, motor mouths.

right so I like him and like his sense of humour, therefore eman i am an idiot right?

Oh the guy is a smart-Alec, no doubt. Funny with it though. The attitude to women and prostitutes on is more deplorable or misguided depending on how you view it. I presume Latvian culture is very different to our own.

I said yesterday that he probably has always felt he could "spout" his mouth coming from wealth and a spoilt upbringing where no matter what he did he knew his future was safe financially. He clearly doesn't tend to respect other players being in the top 100 and obviously feels he's better than most. But there is something different about him.

At least he adds a talking point to what is becoming a blander tennis landscape these days. Personally I don't mind him shooting his mouth (within reason) off if he can back it up with results. That's the difference between him and McEnroe, and even then I don't think McEnroe was THIS outspoken.

He has talent a plenty, lets just hope it's not only recognised for being wise-cracking.

He is living proof of the fact that if you talk the talk but can't be bothered to walk the walk you are a schmuck.

I used to find him exasperating, now I just don't bother finding him.

LuvSports! wrote:right so I like him and like his sense of humour, therefore eman i am an idiot right?

That's not what I said. In fact that's a completely falsification.

People may like others for all sorts of reasons, quite often unquantifiable. My position is regarding Ernie and his behaviour from what I've seen of him. If you too behave and act the same way - I would think the same of you.

Yep Barry, this is the problem. 1 or 2 wise cracks make you interesting, even engaging in interviews like Roddick was. Once you go beyond that and start slagging off all and sundry and are seen as someone who's not afraid to fritter away their talent in pursuit of parties and women then you're simply not taken seriously anymore. I suspect for Gulbis that will rather hurt once he realises it (which he may start doing in the next few months) because a lot of these comments are made to shock, to gain attention.

Gulbis has been acting like somebody with nothing to lose. That's the easiest thing in the world to do. It's also rather childish because it shows no capability of acting with responsibility. In other words, he still needs to grow up.

Well put Lydian.

People have different priorities; tennis isn't all-consuming to him, as it is to most of the top players. He will only change his behaviour if he changes his priorities. He isn't struggling against himself, he is clear about himself and obviously very intelligent, far more than most if not any of the top players.

What's the problem in his attitude to women? I hear only about honest, consensual, relationships. He doesn't want ties, he wants sex. That's his call and he doesn't hurt anyone.

What's the problem with his directness? He explains himself clearly, with humour. He doesn't cheat (like some top players will). He doesn't lie about things, or insult listeners with false modesty.

It's not the way I run my life but its up to him. Outside of doing no harm, we have no right to insist someone behaves as we want to. And he's funny.

bogbrush wrote:People have different priorities; tennis isn't all-consuming to him, as it is to most of the top players. He will only change his behaviour if he changes his priorities. He isn't struggling against himself, he is clear about himself and obviously very intelligent, far more than most if not any of the top players.

What's the problem in his attitude to women? I hear only about honest, consensual, relationships. He doesn't want ties, he wants sex. That's his call and he doesn't hurt anyone.

What's the problem with his directness? He explains himself clearly, with humour. He doesn't cheat (like some top players will). He doesn't lie about things, or insult listeners with false modesty.

It's not the way I run my life but its up to him. Outside of doing no harm, we have no right to insist someone behaves as we want to. And he's funny.

I'm not bothered how he behaves, but I am bothered that other people are now classed as boring, because they don't act in the same manner as him. I actually like the personalities of sport and agree that we have gone far too much to the 'safe' personality side

But Gulbis is just a prat. Who on earth has a talent like that and thinks it's OK not to make the most of it, if they are not a bit of a prat!!

Maybe his mind is open to more than one thing. Is that allowed?

"Gulbis is a prat" hmm, how to debate with that non-point? Do you think he owes something? To who?

I don't find anything of what Gulbis says offensive. He isn't my cup of tea and his call for more spice and angst towards rivalries isn't so bad. In moderation I might add. Having played football and heard just about every abusive and derrogative terms imaginable that pent up frustration or energy can get out of hand. If we wants run his mouth let him. He might not have the results to back it up, but he is entitled to an opinion.

If everyone started getting on his case and call him a Muppet, he might change his views.

I doubt it, I think he'd see it as evidence of their tediousness probably.

He doesn't sound very intelligent to me. Agree with Banbro, he sounds like a prat. Nothing in the above quotes speaks of intelligence. He sounds spoilt and belligerent and as Lydian said, anyone can behave boorishly, say and do what they want, when they know that any consequences will not impact upon them.

Of course it's his life and he's entitled to do what he wants so long as it doesn't harm others, but personally I'd be much more inclined towards a person who, despite having the advantages of power, wealth and privilege, chooses to show restraint and use them wisely and judiciously.

I certainly wouldn't consider the former to be worthy of praise, but again, I repeat, it's his choice, just as it is ours' to comment. The whole context of this discussion is whether or not we find Gulbis's comments to our liking. Some do, some don't. For me it's not so much about wasting his talent (I suspect he actually works very hard behind closed doors and the comments are more to uphold his bad boy image) but more about whether his comments reflect a praiseworthy approach to life, over and above, that displayed by Roger and Rafa (who some would deem boring in comparison) who exemplify antithetic qualities such as hard work, resolve, politeness, responsibility, etc. For me, the resounding answer is no. After all, who would want a world full of Gulbis's, we have enough of them already cluttering up society.

Besides, like I said, I don't see anything witty or interesting in his comments. He isn't new or refreshing. He's just a poor act. A rich baby trying to act cool.

When a person is ways careful to say something polite and non-threatening, suitable for their image, what they say is always useless. When someone says what they think, while much of what they say will be rubbish, some will be useful.

I would always choose to listen to the latter, there's more value in there if you can sort it out from the crap. There's more good stuff in those quotes than in a hundred manicured top 4 press conferences.

He does sound bright to me, I bet he has a high IQ.

It's like at work, I prefer to employ people with high ability and serious flaws than bland ones, in jobs where I'm looking for value. Where I'm looking for people to do a steady job when making no mistakes is all I need, I want the others.

bogbrush wrote:When a person is ways careful to say something polite and non-threatening, suitable for their image, what they say is always useless. When someone says what they think, while much of what they say will be rubbish, some will be useful.

I would always choose to listen to the latter, there's more value in there if you can sort it out from the crap. There's more good stuff in those quotes than in a hundred manicured top 4 press conferences.

He does sound bright to me, I bet he has a high IQ.

It's like at work, I prefer to employ people with high ability and serious flaws than bland ones, in jobs where I'm looking for value. Where I'm looking for people to do a steady job when making no mistakes is all I need, I want the others.

BB you'll be surprised that I have the same approach to employing staff as you. People who know me will also be amazed to hear that I'm arguing against 'a personality' - I've spent my life deliberately being different, for instance in company car choice it's an nice Alfa 159 for me, not another Series 5 BMW

However, I feel Gulbis takes this too far. It's great for him with his background to be able to say what he thinks and damn the consequences. It would be better if he made a few comments and got himself in the Top 10 - then we'd have a real 'all round' personality, not just one who likes to shock for shock's sake

I also never would assume that a high IQ means you have commonsense. A real personality, would have things to say that carried a certain resonance, i.e. understand why the Top 4 are 'boring' and discuss that linking it to a need to have more extraverts

Instead we get 'rent a quote'

Losing to Monfils is about the worst thing he ever did

Nice read Lyd , but yea Gulbis is a big mouth with little action.

He's obviously contented with how his life has evolved. Financially comfortable, but through tennis has become independent of that to a degree, so he's living a kind of playboy life.

He openly admits to his own inadequacies, his vices and is keen to express his opinions, because he has the freedom to do so. He's not tied down to a fitness regime to make him No1 in the world because he hates practising amongst other things and likes to have a social life, which is frowned upon in tennis circles.

He's ranked 40'ish in the world, but was 21 a couple of years ago. Sure he's a wasted talent, and so many of us are, it depends on how we view the world and those inadequacies.

Gulbis has a silver spoon vision of the world but is intelligent and amusing and knows he has not or will not fulfil his potential, end of. Who are we really to criticise him for that, apart from the fact that I'm not as privileged as him, but thats not his fault.

Fine if thats his jaundiced view of the world .. viewed from a position of wealth thats ok.. but if it is suggested that "who are we to crticise HIM" then more to the point who the hell is HE to criticise his fellow professionals. Live his party life and waste his talent if he chooses.. but leave those who play for their living and also the love of their profession to do their job the way they see it should be done.
You say he is intelligent... I would beg to differ.